Chapter 36: Is the Academy Under Attack?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: Is the Academy Under Attack?
Items containing transcendent energy are quite common in this world, though most are high-end luxury goods.
This includes, but is not limited to, various fruits, vegetables, and medicinal herbs, as well as basic materials infused with transcendent energy.
Most of these are plants or animals that were either soaked in saturated transcendent energy after maturing or raised in an energy-rich environment from the start.
In short, they all end up as luxury products simply because they contain transcendent energy.
Personally, I feel like it’s a bit of an "IQ tax." After all, there’s been a lot of marketing lately for high-energy materials, but do people really think materials with transcendent energy are inherently good for you?
Aren't they afraid of energy radiation shortening their lifespans?
That said, I’m aware that some transcendent items do produce special effects under the influence of that energy.
That much is undeniable. There are even artificially induced plants that require transcendent energy to grow, and their fruits are indeed beneficial to the human body.
But those are the minority. Most are either harmful or completely useless. You can’t exactly expect transcendent energy to be "kind" enough to improve your constitution or cure your diseases the moment it enters your body; that’s pure wishful thinking.
The best-case scenario for transcendent energy entering the body is for it to dissipate freely without interference. If you aren't careful, it can cause horrific internal injuries, leaving you either bedridden in a hospital or headed straight to the crematorium.
Looking at the ingredient list, I saw that many items were ordinary materials. However, some recipes called for high-energy materials—those infused with transcendent energy.
I pulled out my phone and did a quick search; they were indeed edible.
But some of the high-energy materials had been crossed out with a pen. Judging by the handwriting in the margins, this was likely Senior Sister Tang Yihan’s doing. Her notes suggested that including these things in the recipe was practically criminal...
It seems the Senior Sister might have tried them herself and ended up with an upset stomach?
I hoped that wasn't the case.
I flipped through the pages and found notes scattered everywhere. With so many errors, how did this book even get published? Wouldn't it just lead people astray?
I browsed the ingredient list with interest, occasionally chuckling at the Senior Sister’s snarky complaints in the margins.
This was far more entertaining than actually reading the content.
Time ticked by.
No strange customers entered the shop, and no massive delivery orders like yesterday’s came in.
However, Senior Sister Tang Yihan seemed to be taking quite a long time. It shouldn't have taken this long—was the shopping list that spread out?
Or had she gone off to find more "exotic" ingredients for her pastries?
The thought sent a chill down my spine, and that lingering scent from this morning felt like it was about to crawl back up my throat.
Still, I was the only one in the shop right now. Despite my slight worry, being alone meant I could do whatever I wanted!
My gaze drifted to the exquisite cakes in the display case. Every single one was priced far beyond what I could ever justify buying.
And right now, I was the only one here. There were security cameras, but the authority over those cameras was effectively in my hands...
If I let greed take over, these luxury desserts—usually so far out of reach—were practically mine for the taking.
Ultimately, I didn't stretch my "evil hands" toward them. I had a feeling that if I took one, I’d definitely get a lecture when she returned.
Those were the centerpieces, the pride of the shop.
Even if I were allowed to eat them for lunch, I wouldn't dare touch them. I had at least a little bit of emotional intelligence.
Just as I was slumped listlessly against the front desk, I felt a low, heavy vibration.
I stood up immediately, wondering if I’d just stood up too fast and gotten dizzy. This place wasn't exactly on a fault line.
But everything in the shop remained steady.
Was it an illusion?
That seemed unlikely. The Witch Academy existed in a separate space; even an earthquake shouldn't transmit here. Was some Senior Sister in the academy having a high-intensity duel?
I couldn't think of any other explanation for what just happened.
I walked to the shop entrance and saw people from neighboring stores standing outside, looking around curiously.
It wasn't an illusion. Something had really happened.
I looked up at the sky. It was still blue with white clouds—perfect weather.
By now, several Senior Sisters had mounted their brooms and were soaring into the sky. I watched from the ground with a pang of envy. Perhaps there had been an accident somewhere in the academy?
A gas explosion?
No, no, this was the Witch Academy. If anything, it would be a mana explosion.
Following the tremor, a dull, heavy roar echoed, seemingly coming from the horizon.
I watched the Senior Sisters on their brooms. Since they were all heading in the same direction, they clearly knew more than I did.
Without hesitation, I activated my Spirit Vision.
Instantly, the world changed. The academy streets before me seemed to overlap with another city; I knew this was Magic City, the place that shared the same space as the Witch Academy.
But what truly shocked me—leaving me speechless—was the scene in the sky!
A colossal semi-spherical barrier shielded the entire Witch Academy, but the sky beyond it was being smothered by blinding light.
It was a terrifying flow of energy, a density of complex information so overwhelming that it could only be an unknown transcendent energy I had never encountered before!
And it wasn't just one source; it was a collision of forces, with that specific energy dominating the fray.
The scene outside looked like the coming of an apocalyptic judgment.
Even the sun high above seemed affected, transforming from a harmless, warm orb into a searing, terrifying fireball.
A massive surge of Unknowable information from the Inner World slammed into my psyche. Everything before my eyes became a blurred mosaic of static. This sight reminded me of when I was an infant, opening my eyes for the first time to a world of terrifying, incomprehensible wonders.
Unknown and eerie.
I slammed my eyes shut. This was something I hadn't touched until now—a massive transcendent power from a much higher level than I could comprehend.
Because I couldn't understand it, my mind subjectively blocked the anomalies. My brain couldn't translate the input into valid information, so it compromised by turning my vision into a blur of pixels.
If I didn't exit Spirit Vision quickly, my head would ache for at least a full day.
After deactivating Spirit Vision, I looked back at the beautiful blue sky and white clouds, feeling momentarily dazed. The image from a moment ago still flickered in my mind, overlapping with the sun.
The stimulus continued to grate on my nerves, nearly pushing me toward an emotional collapse.
"What on earth was that?"
I pressed a hand to my chest, trying to force my heart rate back to normal.
Just as I thought I would be safe as long as I didn't use Spirit Vision, another disturbance appeared in the sky.
This time, I hadn't activated Spirit Vision. Had the situation outside already begun to affect the interior of the academy?
It had reached the point where it was visible to the naked eye...